


Seal the Deal

by Artemaes_Jones



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: F/M, Selkies, Tags Are Hard, some humor much puns
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-02-11
Updated: 2019-09-03
Packaged: 2019-10-26 02:08:49
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,508
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17736998
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Artemaes_Jones/pseuds/Artemaes_Jones
Summary: Marinette Dupain-Cheng lived a normal life, until an incident at the cafe she worked at leaves her married to a besotted and adorable boy, Adrien Agreste. aka the Selkie AU no one asked for





	1. Something's Fishy With This Coat

**Author's Note:**

> This was inspired by a random post on Tumblr about selkie Alya- and a writing prompt from long ago. Please enjoy.

   Marinette had spent most of her high school life studying and practicing fashion so that she could finally go to university to study fashion. She filled her weekends with helping her parents at the bakery and hanging out with her classmates, mainly her childhood best friend Nino. Now, as she waited for her first semester of university to begin, she found herself helping at a local café that was known for its delicious fish dishes, the _Sea Brine_ café.

  “Why, Marinette, of course we would sell fish, nowhere near us likes to sell it.” Her boss, Madame Courier remarked after she had asked after the dishes.

“But Madame,” Marinette tried to say, only to be cut off.

 “Now Marinette, we are about to open, could you please set the tables and make sure each has water?”

   So, she marched off and did her job, and every time she tried to argue that Paris was in the middle of France and so there wasn’t really any reason to have fish in a random Parisian café, Madame Courier simply ignored her and moved on to the next topic. It was on a random Tuesday that she finally learned why her boss loved to serve these dishes, and it was from one of her fellow coworkers, Luke Castelle.

   “She used to love the sea, to be quite honest, but when she moved with her husband to Paris she found that it was too long a drive to return to it. To deal, she decided to serve special fish dishes in this café.” He told her while they cleaned the tables one day, and she nodded along. Of course, she would want to be reminded of her home, the reasoning made sense- kind of.

   The _incident_  as Marinette likes to call it, occurred almost two weeks after she learned the reason behind all the dishes, and it only happened because of her extreme clumsiness. She constantly after this moment cursed her unlucky streaks and how if she had only had the grace of a dancer, not a server, this could have all been avoided.

   The day of the _incident_ , Marinette had been called in early for the morning to lunch shift and so she was tired, having to wake up at 7 am. Normally, when given the choice, Marinette would always choose to sleep until 11 am and even though she is the daughter of two bakers, she still felt more of a night owl than a morning person, something that often brought her trouble. This was especially true when she would be asked to help with the creation of the day’s pastries or even now, being asked to help prepare the food for the lunch rush that would inevitably happen later in the day.

   During her shift, after helping with the dishes and prepping the café for its opening at 9, she was called in by Luke to help serve, since there seemed to be even more people at the café then usual. Deciding that it might as well be time to learn how to serve, since all this time she had either been back in the kitchen or at the cash register. She really wanted to be able to help in all positions at the café, since Madame Courier was struggling to find more workers.

    It was during the lunch rush, in the last hour of her shift when the _incident_  occurred. She had been doing well at serving the whole day, and was impressed with her lack of clumsiness, not once breaking any plates or spilling food on any customers. After serving a kind old couple sitting by the window, Marinette was shocked to see a large group of people sitting down in her area, since normally only couples came to the café, or small groups of teenagers looking for a unique taste.

   Heading over to the table of people, she saw three boys and four girls, all of who were laughing and seemed to be enjoying each other’s company. Just as she was about to reach the table, she saw a shiny black fur coat lying on the ground behind one of the boys, a blonde one. Scooping it up, she gently placed it across the back of his chair.

  “Whoops seems you've dropped your coat, here you go!” She smiled at the boy, as she heard his friends stop chattering and saw a shocked look on his face.

   Ignoring their strange reactions, she pulled out a notepad for orders and smiled at them. In front of her, to her left and at the edge of the table was the blonde boy with green eyes who was intently staring at her as she asked if they would like anything to drink. To his left sat an amber haired girl with glasses, who also seemed very interested in Marinette now, something that made her feel awkward. To that girl’s left sat a boy with brown hair and glasses, and across from him sat an athletic looking boy with black hair, who had begun to laugh again while telling a joke. On his left another girl, this one blonde with blue eyes and to her immediate right sat another girl, with a punk-rock look.

   After taking their drink orders, Marinette grabbed water for the table and began to serve other tables, all the while feeling the blonde boy’s eyes on her. She shifted around constantly to try and see if maybe he was just staring ahead, but as she did so she realized he really was staring at her. Going back to the table, Marinette asked them their order and saw if they wanted more water, noticing that most of them had ordered some variation of Madame Courier’s famous fish dish, something which was popular among the regulars as well.

   She didn’t realize anything was wrong until Luke, after she had delivered some food to another table, pulled her aside and asked her what was wrong. She looked at him in confusion during this, and he merely gestured to the now seemingly upset green-eyed boy who was staring at them. “I have no clue- I just picked up his coat for him and I guess it must have upset him. He must be too scared to talk to me about it though, so I have just been ignoring him.”

  Luke nodded at her and let her continue serving, meanwhile keeping an eye on the presumed angry customer that kept staring at Marinette.

   She continued serving, and everything seemed fine until she finally had to bring the boy’s table their food. If Marinette had been paying any attention to her environment instead of focusing solely on the boy and how he was still staring at her, she wouldn’t have missed that her shoelace was untied, and she wouldn’t, as she approached the table, had thrown the group’s meal directly at the blonde boy.

   Marinette watched in horror as the fish dishes sailed through the air, flying towards their now focused target. Her face soon crumpled into confusion as she watched the boy grab the plates of fish out of the air and setting them down on the table, all except his own dish, which he grasped within his hand. “Don’t worry Miss Marinette,” He winked at her, “I’m always able to have a _catch of the day_.”

   She blinked from her position on the floor, only to finally groan as the stranger’s horrible pun registered after her shock faded. The boy simply smiled as the girl on his left smacked him in the arm muttering something about “showing off”. Marinette simply ignored that comment and got up from her spot on the floor, blushing.

  “Sorry about that,” She said to the table, looking down at her untied shoes. “I thought I had tied them, but I guess not.”

   She heard the group murmuring that it was okay and looked up and smiled at them, noticing that the blonde boy was smiling happily at her. She left them to their food, which was somewhat shaken up from their air-trip, and began to serve other tables, happily noting that the boy had stopped staring at her and seemingly was enjoying the comfort of his friends.

   After some time had passed she was gestured back to the table and was calmly asked for the check by the boy with glasses. She happily brought it over to them, glad to know that the group was indeed not angry at her for almost ruining their meals. Grabbing the check from them and noting that the tip seemed to be bigger than she expected, she wished them a good day and went on with the last few minutes of her shift.

   At the end of her shift, Marinette waved farewell to Luke and Madame Courier, and made her way back to her parent’s bakery, a smile on her face. When she got home she greeted both of her parents and went upstairs to work on her new project, a beautiful ladybug dress. It wasn’t until dinner that she began to finally digest her day, while talking to her parents about all the things that had occurred.

  “And then Maman, this large group came in and I picked up the coat of one of them. I could have sworn that they were all angry at me for that, but they all seemed quite friendly after that and were pretty nice.”  
Her mother nodded as she spoke, only asking questions every so often, and answering with how here day went as well after Marinette had finished.

   Her father on the other hand, looked at her with a thoughtful gaze throughout their conversation and finally spoke up after his wife had finished with her story. “Mare-bear, what was this coat like?”  
Looking over at her dad, Marinette grabbed her chin and thought about it.

   Clicking her fingers, Marinette responded, “It was furry and dark, and incredibly soft whenever I touched it. It freaked me out at first though, since I didn’t expect it to be so soft.”

   As she spoke her parents shared a look and turned back to smile at her.

   “That’s interesting, how is your project going?” Not noticing how they seemed to change the conversation, Marinette simply smiled and began to talk about how much she loved the fabric’s feel and how excited she was to complete it.

   It was while she was sleeping that Marinette began to realize how startling the boy’s eyes were, since they constantly appeared within her dreams.

* * *

  
   A few weeks later, while Marinette was working the cash register that she saw him again, and this time he seemed nervous. Smiling at him while she took his order at the to-go section of the café, Marinette began to type out what his order was. It wasn’t until she heard a gasp that she looked up, only to find the boy on his knee, with a nervous look on his face.

   “I- uh- read online that this is something humans do to signal that they are married. And since you completed my marriage ritual I thought it only fair to do the same for you.” The boy babbled at her, and she looked at him in shock.

   “E- excuse me?” She stuttered out, her eyes growing wide, not quite understanding what the boy was saying.

   “I believe, Miss Marinette, that the crown prince of the Selkie kingdom has just requested your hand and I am assuming that this is the boy who’s coat you picked up?” Madame Courier came up next to her, meanwhile staring at the kneeling boy.

   “What?” Marinette asked her boss, but the words registered within her mind finally. “A- selkie? I thought those were just mythical creatures.”

   “Oh no my dear. We are very much so real- but back to this poor boy, why don’t you explain Adrien?” Madame Courier smiled at the boy, no, Adrien, Marinette corrected herself and she turned back to look at him while he stood up, the diamond ring still viewable from his hand.

   “Oh, of course. Marinette, a few weeks ago you picked up my pelt from the ground and then threw fish at me which I caught. In our culture,” He gestured between himself and Madame Courier. “That means that we are married, since you are human, at least through selkie law. It just took me a while to figure out how to talk to you about this. But I guess you know now.”

   Adrien reached out his non-ring hand in a handshake and Marinette took it, shaking it up and down awkwardly. “My name is Adrien Agreste, the crowned prince of the Selkie kingdom.”

   “Marinette Dupain-Cheng, daughter to Tom and Sabine Dupain-Cheng.” She replied, but Adrien smiled.

   “Agreste.” He corrected, but Marinette just looked at him in confusion.

   “Your name- it’s Marinette Agreste. We’re married, remember?”

     Marinette just stared at him, and then after comprehending finally what he had said, she promptly fainted.


	2. Why Marinette Must Sea this Through

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Marinette learns more about Adrien and some puns are made.

         

              If someone had told Marinette a few weeks ago that she would be married to a selkie before she even graduated, she would have laughed and walked away. Now, though, as she sits across from a blonde hair boy- her husband, she corrects- she doubts if she would even believe someone if they told her that today.

              “Now, Marinette, it is very important that you accept Mr. Agreste’s proposal and that we inform your parents at once.” Madame Courier was saying, but all Marinette could focus on was how Adrien constantly messed with the knot that kept his black coat together. “Marinette? Adrien? Are you two even listening?”

              Marinette looked up and smiled, “Of course Madame. I just don’t quite understand why I need to accept his proposal, aren’t we already married? To him at least?” She looked over to see Adrien nodding in agreement. “No offense of course.” She added on and he laughed.

              “None taken, princess.” At this, Marinette’s cheeks began to warm.

              “Proposals are special things in selkie and human culture,” Madame Courier began to explain. “If only one side of the relationship proposes and accepts, the other must too. It’s a balance between both cultures. Since you proposed to Adrien in his culture, he felt it a necessity to propose back in yours, a confirmation that he was serious about his acceptance.” Marinette could see that Adrien’s ears were slowly beginning to turn red. “It’s important to both him and his culture that the proposal is taken seriously, and since Adrien is- a special case- his proposal and its acceptance is very important to human-selkie relations in the future.”

              Marinette considered this, and turned to her selkie husband. “Then in that case, I accept your proposal Adrien.”

              As she said this, she saw the blonde’s face slowly morph into a giant smile, and then transform into a mischievous smirk. “Do you mean you want to _sea_ this through?”

              Marinette groaned at his pun, but she still had a small smile on her face as she did it. “Papa will love you.”

              And indeed, Tom Dupain took to Adrien like a fish takes to water. The minute that Marinette and Adrien arrived at the boulangerie, courtesy of Adrien driving them in his car (Marinette had asked how a selkie has a car or why he needed one, but Adrien just laughed), Tom and Sabine came out to greet them, big smiles upon their faces. Just before they arrived though, Adrien leaned over to Marinette and smiled, “Are you _bread_ -y for this?”.

              Although the pun made Marinette groan, it somehow set her at ease as well, maybe this would go alright and she wouldn’t have to worry about her parents disowning her. When they finally reached her parents, Tom reached out his hand to Adrien and smiled, “So you’re our honey-bee’s husband, huh?”

              Adrien smiled back at the giant man in front of him, and took his hand. “I hope to be officially. I am Adrien, a pleasure to meet you both.”

              Tom laughed, “A pleasure Adrien. My name is Tom, and this is Sabine.” He gestured over to his petite wife, who smiled pleasantly at Adrien.

              “We have heard much about you.” Sabine said, winking at Marinette, who simply dragged her hand down her face.

              “Mama, Adrien and I would like to talk to you and Papa about something, in private?” At her request, Tom and Sabine both nodded and led the new couple inside to the kitchen, where they all sat down at a table nearest the back entrance.

              “What is it you would like to talk to us about, Mare-Bear?” Tom asked his only daughter, an eyebrow raised.

              “Well, uh, Adrien proposed to me and I kinda accepted? We wanted to let you know, since obviously you too know more than you are letting on.” Adrien beamed as she said this, a proud smile upon his face.

              “Thank you for letting us know, dear. We suspected whenever you called that he was a part of the selkie kingdom, and assumed that he may have accepted your proposal. Though I must say, he is quite handsome, even more so than how you described him.” Sabine smiled at them both and winked. “Why don’t you two get to know each other more- there are some pastries upstairs.”

              At the word pastries, Adrien sprung up and practically dragged Marinette to the stairs, his mouth watering. She laughed, and went ahead of him so that she could unlock the apartment door. As they walked inside, Adrien paused to admire the small space, but stopped as soon as his eyes laid upon the pastry box lying on the counter. Marinette giggled as she watched him start to devour the croissants and walked over, snatching a chocolate éclair from his grasp. “Save some for me,  Adrien.”

              This was weird, a voice in Marinette’s head sounded, why are you so comfortable? He’s a stranger and not only did you agree to marry him, you allowed him to meet your parents and now you’re sharing pastries. ‘Shut up,’ She responded to the voice. ‘I’ve got a good feeling about him, besides, I can use this time to get to know him.’

              ‘But remember Lila?’ It reminded her. ‘How she tricked you into security and then ripped away everything from you? How she stole your reputation and confidence?’

              ‘Adrien isn’t like that.’ Marinette argued back, before snatching another pastry from the box. ‘Besides, I’m in university now, why would anyone do that?’ The voice silenced itself as Adrien looked up at her in concern, his sharp green eyes piercing hers.

              “What’s wrong? Are you alright?” He asked and Marinette nodded.

              “I’m fine- just thinking. Why are you here in Paris? The only water source we have is the Seine and that doesn’t seem so appealing.” Marinette knew that she was rambling, feeling a little unsettled that her mind would compare Adrien to someone as terrible as Lila Rossi.

              “Ah.” Adrien put down the last croissant onto the plate in front of him (which Marinette had gotten while she was distracted, but was still confused as to how he had one in front of him). “I, uh, wasn’t supposed to be here?” If Adrien had looked downtrodden before, he looked even more so now.

              “What do you mean?” Okay, okay, so Marinette was even more confused than when he had walked in earlier that morning and had caused her to faint. “Aren’t you the prince? Don’t you have the power to go wherever you want and do whatever you want?” She had seen Chloe, who had acted like a princess every single day while they were growing up, do whatever she wanted.

              “No? My father rarely let me leave the North Sea, and even so it was only to meet other selkies, like Madame Courier. The whole reason I’m here is because my friend Nino, a sea turtle shapeshifter, convinced me to come and visit for a few months. I’m, uh, not sure that my father really knows where I am. I told his advisor, Natalie, but left before she could say anything to me about it.” Adrien blushed a little, and rubbed his neck in embarrassment.

              “So I take it that your father won’t be very amused at the idea that we’re,” She gestured between herself and Adrien. “Married, then huh.” Adrien looked down and nodded, before responding.

              “I just- you were so nice, and you proposed twice and if there’s anything I want to prove my dad wrong in, it’s that humans aren’t cruel.” The fact that he was sharing this, the truth behind his appearance and his eagerness to marry her halfway confused Marinette and flattered her.

              “I only have one condition Adrien.” Marinette tilted his head up with her left index finger and held up her right one. “We have to get to know each other better before we get married in the human sense. I don’t want to marry you only to find out that we can’t get along. Deal?”

              Adrien smiled at her, blushing a bit. “Deal.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hello friends! Sorry for the long wait! I promise the next one will be sooner. Please enjoy and tell me what you think.
> 
> Thank you,  
> Artemaes

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading! Please let me know what you think!


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